Subarctic afforestation: effects of forest plantations on ground-nesting birds in lowland Iceland

Planting forests is a commonly suggested measure to mitigate climate change. The resulting changes in habitat structure can greatly influence the diversity and abundance of pre-existing wildlife. Understanding these consequences is key for avoiding unintended impacts of afforestation on habitats and populations of conservation concern. Afforestation in lowland Iceland has been gaining momentum in recent years and further increases are planned. Iceland supports internationally important breeding populations of several ground-nesting, migratory bird species that mostly breed in open habitats. If afforestation impacts the distribution and abundance of these species, the consequences may be apparent throughout their non-breeding ranges across Europe and Africa. To quantify the effects of plantation forests on the abundance and distribution of ground-nesting birds (in particular waders, Charadriiformes), surveys were conducted on 161 transects (surrounding 118 plantations) perpendicular to f...植树造林是当前被广泛提议的减缓气候变化的措施之一。由此引发的栖息地结构变化，会显著影响区域内原有野生生物的多样性与种群丰度。明晰此类影响的后果，是规避造林项目对受保护栖息地及具有保护价值的种群造成非预期负面影响的核心前提。近年来，冰岛低海拔地区的造林活动愈发活跃，且未来还计划进一步扩大造林规模。冰岛境内栖息着多种具有国际重要性的地面筑巢候鸟种群，此类鸟类大多在开阔生境中繁殖。若造林活动对这些鸟类的分布与种群丰度造成影响，其后果将在这些鸟类横跨欧洲与非洲的非繁殖分布区内显现。为量化人工林对地面筑巢鸟类（尤其是鸻鹬类，Charadriiformes）种群丰度与分布的影响，研究团队在161条样带（transects）上开展了调查——这些样带环绕118处人工林，且与……